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Sep 21, 2011
Life finds a way
Erin Etheridge  Burpee Home Gardens Guest Blogger

Jeff Goldblum once said, “Life…uh…finds a way.” When he said it he was talking about genetically engineered female dinosaurs whose DNA was extracted from an ancient mosquito and who somehow evolved rapidly to breed within the supposedly controlled confines of Jurassic Park, but it’s a useful line if you think about it. For instance, I find myself muttering “life…uh…finds a way” every time I walk through my garden.

Last time I checked in, I had replanted a barely thriving, half-drowned tomato plant from a supersaturated container into the sandy and unprepared soil of my backyard. I knew that repotting is a risk, but I had no choice. And guess what? Life…uh…found a way.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I meandered over several days later and found a beautiful, deep-green shoot of healthy tomato leaves jutting from one of the sorry-looking branches.

Good news for my basil, as well, which also drowned. (I really do feel awful about it—drowning seems like a terrible way to die.) I did some research and discovered that once the now-dead flowered branches were totally dried out, I could twiddle the pods between my thumb and forefinger to extract approximately one hundred thousand poppy-seed-size basil seeds.

Which I will still certainly do, but life…uh…found a way around my ineptitude and I discovered tiny basil sprouts popping up not only in that container, but in the container of dead peas and the container of dead fern ("dead" is an unfortunate theme in my garden), which were sitting nearby.

Like the tragically short-sighted scientists manipulating the genetic structures of long-extinct mega species, I have been bamboozled by Life. Happily, my failed experiments aren’t redefining the food chain: I still get to eat them, instead of the other way around.

Reader Comments (3)
This is so true, nature seems to find a way to move on and adapt. I'm constantly amazed at the robust tomatoes that sprout up in the garden in our cold spring weather and fruit long before the ones I start from seed in the warm safety of my home. I've tried to start lady's mantle from seed with limited success, yet each spring I find 10-15 seedlings sprouting up in my driveway under the harshest conditions imaginable. Gardening can really be a truly inspirational hobby!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 | Chiot's Run
Sounds like similar ventures I've had with my personal plants. I'm constantly either over or under-watering, yet somehow certain plants (like my potted rye grass) seem to thrive and move to forbidden places(well, other pots in which I forbid their presence), simply because they can. My plants have a mind of their own!

-Jessi at Calloway's and Cornelius Nurseries
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 | Jessi Trevino
Chiot's Run—I was amazed to find a tomato seedling in my front yard flower bed. Nature is phenomenal.

Jessi—Kind of hilarious, if you think about it, how some of the most delightful things that happen in the garden are total mistakes (or against your will).
Thursday, September 22, 2011 | Erin @ Fierce Beagle
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